Yosemite shouldn’t be remembered for floods, landslides, and car troubles but all these conspired to make my visit memorable. While at Kings Canyon I was aware that bad weather was coming but I still harbored hopes of hiking to the top of Half Dome and taking wonderful pictures. By the time I awoke the storm was in full force and by the time I left I was driving a hobbled car.
Unlike during past visits, I stayed near the southern entrance. From here you enter Yosemite along the Merced River which is at a lower elevation and therefore less susceptible to snow weather closures. I thought the deck was stacked in my favor but the problem turned out to be torrential rain and not snow so both entrances were equally affected.
What’s this all mean?
Flooding everywhere, rockslides on to roads and for me personally one of my car tires being pierced starting a slow leak. After checking out the next morning I found my car sitting on three tires and one wheel rim. The tire was completely flat.
Sounds like a miserable trip, doesn’t it? It actually turned out to be an enjoyable albeit wet visit. I saw an uncrowded Yosemite in extreme weather conditions. Staff in the Park was much more available to discuss park history, favorite trails and how best to enjoy Yosemite. At my hostel, I became much more acquainted with other guests and the staff and services. Heck, even the rain conspired to make my visit enjoyable by stopping for the 12 minutes it took me to change my tire, the first pause in 36 hours!
Within a couple hours of starting out atop my spare tire I was at a Toyota dealership. There they replaced my tire for free under warrantee and I got an oil change to make that obnoxious “Maintenance Required” light go away. While my trip schedule was off by a few hours, my car was in better shape than it had been in weeks and I was happy to be on my way.
Perhaps I’m delusional but I sure enjoyed my Yosemite adventure!
by 
